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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24297556">It's Not a Date (Or is It?)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/sparrellow'>sparrellow (orphan_account)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Vocaloid</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Childhood Friends, F/M, First Dates, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Humor, Romance, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension, and theyre not related as always, but it gets resolved i guess, cant believe i have to put a disclaimer like this in the year of our lord 2020, it kind of sucks? but its okay im not writing for a panel of judges here, len is a self-aware simp at least, me recycling the same gotdamn trope over and over again and wringing it dry like a fool, my single brain cell bouncing around in my head as i write another childhood friends au, oh yeah rin and len dont have the same birthday for the sake of plot</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 01:54:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,141</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24297556</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/sparrellow</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Why would I, of all people, ask the poor girl out on her birthday, of all days,” he said. “That sounds like the worst birthday gift ever.”</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kagamine Len/Kagamine Rin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>32</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>It's Not a Date (Or is It?)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I'm posting this half un-edited/proofread because I'm a mad lad, but also impatient and I've gotta zoom off to work in like an hour and I still haven't gotten ready in any shape or form. I'll come back and edit this later but just a warning you're reading smth I keysmashed and left without even checking for comprehension or typos.</p><p>sorry it's. Bad. I just didn't care that much when I was writing it just wanted to uhhh exploit the childhood friends trope as usual hehe</p><p>written in between Full Time Work and screaming in the rinxlen/mikuxkaito vocaloid discord server ffjjdsjsjjjjsfjfjs hmu if you want the link to join. ;)</p><p>[edit:] went back and proofread it but no amount of editing can save the writing quality</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Although they had been friends since they were in diapers, when it came to Rin’s birthday, Len always had no clue what to give her.</p><p>You see, the girl was difficult. She didn’t really <em> like </em> her birthday—she refused to celebrate it, even. She went so far as to threaten to blackmail him (with childhood photos of him half-naked, suction cups on his nipples; it was better not to ask, for childhood had been a strange time) if he so much as <em> ever </em> planned a surprise party behind her back. </p><p>Whenever he’d try asking about what she’d want for her birthday, she’d scoff and roll her eyes and tell him something stupid like, “A will to live.” <em> Yes, Rin, we all want a will to live, </em> he’d think. <em> But alas I need something a little more obtainable. </em></p><p>And, well, it wasn’t like Len could just <em> not </em> give her a gift—he had to. It was obligatory. While Rin’s blood curdled at the mention of her own birthday, whenever it came to anyone else’s, she would go ham. The previous birthday, she’d knitted Len a <em> sweater</em>. A whole, mcfucking <em> sweater</em>. And you can bet this simp wore it so much the armpits started permanently smelling like the inside of a men’s locker room. </p><p>So he had to give her something back as equally as awesome. It was just an unwritten rule in his book of life. It was Len law.</p><p>Despite spending a good portion of the year listening out for any things she could want, this year around was particularly tough. Rin had mentioned, in the off-occasion, wanting several things; a television (he couldn’t afford that even if he wanted to), a boyfriend (well… maybe? <em> Ahem. </em> Just kidding), and a trip to the ISS (h… <em> how</em>).</p><p>For obvious reasons, such gifts were unobtainable. Which came to the dilemma he experienced almost every year: what in the ever loving <em> fuck </em> should he give to Rin this year?</p><p>It hit one week before her birthday when he started to grow desperate. So desperate, in fact, he consulted two of Rin’s closest female friends—Gumi and Miku, who seemed to be (sometimes, mostly) on the same wavelength as her. </p><p>He didn’t like talking to them. They were painful to engage with. Insufferable. The human embodiment of gremlins. But desperate times called for desperate measures.</p><p>“A gift for Rin, huh,” Miku had echoed, when he’d planted himself at their desks one morning. Rin always came late, so, it wasn’t like he’d be caught in the act or anything anyway. </p><p>Len nodded.</p><p>Gumi and Miku exchanged looks.</p><p>“How about you ask her out,” Miku suggested, a deadpan expression. Gumi, however, couldn’t do much to hide her amusement; bursting into a fit of giggles behind her hand.</p><p>He rolled his eyes. “A <em> serious </em> gift, Miku.”</p><p>“What?” She looked innocent. “It <em> is </em> serious.”</p><p>Gumi continued to snort-laugh off to the side.</p><p>“Well, what are you two giving her for her birthday?” he asked, deciding it wasn’t worth the effort arguing.</p><p>Miku tossed a pigtail behind one shoulder. “We’re going to have a sleepover, where we will forcibly sing happy birthday to her and make her eat a cake.”</p><p>Len frowned. “That sounds… nice. I guess.”</p><p>“You can’t steal our idea.” She jabbed a finger at his chest. “Like I said, just ask her out.”</p><p>“Why would I, of all people, ask the poor girl out on her birthday, <em> of all days</em>,” he said. “That sounds like the worst birthday gift ever.”</p><p>It was their turn to roll their eyes. “Maybe to <em> you</em>, banana brain,” Gumi said. “It’s pathetic that you’ve been friends with her the longest out of us three, and you <em> still </em> don’t know what gift to give her on her birthday. Talk about dumbass energy.” Then they high-fived each other.</p><p>Len bristled, his pride taking a hefty blow. “And? At least I’m <em> trying </em> to give her something she wants,” he reasoned, voice squeaking.</p><p>“If you used any of that big, big brain in that big, big head of yours, you would know what she wants,” Miku shot back, waggling a finger at his forehead. “Like I said: <em> kissy kissy. Go on a date with me. Let’s get married or something and live happily ever after.</em>”</p><p>But he was unconvinced. Rin? Living happily ever after? That girl couldn’t sit through any romance movie for the life of her. </p><p>He decided this conversation was not worth having. He would figure this out on his own.</p><p>Maybe. Hopefully. Probably.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>“A gift for your girlfriend,” Kaito mused aloud, looking distant as he hung over the fence separating him and Len. Kaito was his neighbour; an older, more experienced neighbour (he was a university student and proudly boasted about his experience having dated two girls and one guy).</p><p>It was T-minus three days until Rin’s birthday, and Len was <em> still </em> running in circles trying to figure out what to give her. It had come to asking his neighbour. Who, in all the times they’d interacted, always smelt like bong water and cigarettes.</p><p>Len winced. “She’s not my girlfriend,” he said—or, well, insisted.</p><p>Kaito ignored him. “How about a date,” he suggested. “Like, a really sweet date. You take her somewhere she likes to go and treat her. It doesn’t have to be grand or extravagant, or anything.”</p><p>Huh. <em> Huh</em>. The guy had a point. Not the date part, but the taking-her-out-and-paying-for-her part. It didn’t seem too bad of an idea, actually.</p><p>All of a sudden, Len had a great idea for what to do on Rin’s birthday. He quickly thanked Kaito for his advice and ran off, annoyed he hadn’t thought of it in the first place, but nevertheless plotting a master plan of where he could take her on her birthday.</p><p>First, of course, he had to check whether she was <em> available </em> that day.</p><p><em> Rin r u busy on Sunday</em>, he texted her on LINE.</p><p>She replied two minutes later with, <em> I’m at Miku’s in the morning, but I’m free in the afternoon. Why? </em></p><p>Okay, good. He didn’t need to rethink schedules or anything. <em> Do u want to hang out? We could go 2 karaoke or smth. </em></p><p>
  <em> Sure. What time? </em>
</p><p>Len paused to think, before responding, <em> How abt one? </em></p><p>Rin’s reply came back almost immediately. <em> Sounds good. </em></p><p>He was relieved. Okay. So. Now he just had to figure out what to do to make the whole thing, well, <em> special</em>. It was her birthday. Sure, going to karaoke was good and fun and all, but they already did that pretty regularly. It was part of the plan, but he needed something <em> more</em>. </p><p>How about a nice restaurant? Or was that too, well, suggestive? Besides, he only had so much of his allowance he could spare. Hmm.</p><p>He pulled up the internet browser on his phone and began typing into the search function, <em> Places to go on dat— </em> Wait—delete delete delete. <em> Places to go for birthdays</em>. There we go.</p><p>Some articles popped up. He clicked on the first one, scanned the list. <em> Restaurant. Cinema. Musical theatre. Park. Museum. Observation tower. </em></p><p>Observation tower?</p><p>Len thought for a moment. He knew he was too broke to take her somewhere exciting like, uh, Skytree or whatever. But then there was the Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku. And <em> that </em> was free. <em> And </em> they had a cafe at the top. </p><p>Plus, it was sort of romantic— </p><p>But the point of it was, it was for her<em> birthday</em>. Not a <em> date</em>. And it was something nice and unique, and he could totally imagine them sitting in the cafe watching the sunset over Tokyo's skyline.</p><p>So, that was decided. Karaoke. Observation tower. Maybe dinner if Rin was keen on getting something like Gusto because he didn't have the bank account for it. Man, Kaito was sort of a genius, in his own strange, Kaito way.</p><p>He reminded himself to buy the guy an ice cream sometime as a thank you gift.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Sunday finally came, and Len arranged to meet Rin out front of their usual go-to karaoke box. She was already there waiting when he arrived—which was strange, given the girl's notoriety for being fashionably late in most situations—looking bored and scrolling through her phone. She was dressed sort of cute; a mustard yellow overall dress and white collar shirt underneath, hair tied back by her signature white bow. </p><p>He swept her up into an embrace, which she wriggled out of with a groan. "Happy birthday!"</p><p>Her cheeks flushed red and she rolled her eyes. "Shut up."</p><p>Len took no offence, steering her into the lobby of Joysound. "How was your sleepover with Gumi and Miku?" he asked.</p><p>Rin looked surprised. "You knew about that?"</p><p>"Oh. Yeah. I talked to them last week about it."</p><p>She blinked. "Huh." She seemed to brush it off as something minor, answering his question with a shrug of her shoulders. "You know. It's Miku and Gumi. We played monopoly before Miku got bored, and then they forced me to play truth or dare."</p><p>"Truth or dare, huh." Len had heard multiple horror stories about her previous experiences with the girls playing truth or dare. He grinned, glancing over at her. “So what did you do?”</p><p>“Dare, of course,” Rin said. She held up her wrist, showing an elaborate illustration of an erected penis. “What do you think?”</p><p>His eyebrows shot up. “That’s creative.”</p><p>She snickered. "Yeah. I think they were getting a bit frustrated with me. I kept saying pass on their dares, so the punishment was to drink a whole bottle of ketchup."</p><p>Len wondered what possible thing they were trying to get her to do that she would willingly drink ketchup over doing. "Did you?"</p><p>"Yeah. And then I threw up all over Miku's carpet, so they called it a night."</p><p>The way she said it so nonchalantly caught him off guard as they stepped up to the counter. He fumbled with his wallet, pulling out a membership card and scrambling to fill out the slip of paper the front counter clerk handed to him.</p><p>Rin was reading his writing over his shoulder. “Four hours? Really? I thought we would be going for like, eight hours.”</p><p>He handed the paper back to the staff and shot her his best, reassuring grin. "I've got other stuff planned after this, you know."</p><p>She quirked an eyebrow. "Other stuff?" she echoed. "Better not be a surprise party, or I <em> will </em> post those pictures of you all over—"</p><p>"It's <em> not </em> a surprise party. It's just you and I. Jeez."</p><p>The staff told him how much they owed, and he dished out the money before Rin could even get to her own purse. </p><p>She frowned. "Hey. Tell me how much it was when we get to the room so I can pay you back."</p><p>"No," he said smoothly, pocketing the change and taking the receipt. "Today, it's on me."</p><p>Rin opened her mouth to argue as they started off down the corridor towards their allocated room number. "Are you sure? Four hours isn't <em> cheap</em>—"</p><p>"It's fine," he insisted. "It's your birthday. Think of it as part of the gift."</p><p>She wasn't impressed, but she knew better not to argue.</p><p>The room they were given wasn't huge—which was fine, not that they needed the space—so they sat next to each other bumping shoulders on the far side of the room, facing the television. Rin already had the remote in hand within moments of sitting down, queuing a ton of songs they usually defaulted to singing every time they went to karaoke.</p><p>When they cleared out what she had queued, she reached for the menu on the table in front of them and started looking through it. “I’m hungry. Can we get something?”</p><p>Len was trying to remember how much he had left in his wallet in terms of cash. "<em>Uh. </em> Sure."</p><p>She pointed at a picture of a plate of takoyaki. "Want to share some?"</p><p>They were only 600 yen. Not too bad. </p><p>He nodded, before noticing a lack of drinks on their table, and the dry, scratchy feeling in his throat. He quickly checked the receipt they were given. "Shoot. I got us the drink bar. Want me to grab you something?"</p><p>"Oh." Rin thought for a moment, as if the decision was really tough, although the selection at the drink bar almost never changed. "Just get me some minute maid. The usual."</p><p>Right. Orange soda. <em> The usual. </em> As he got up from his seat, she reached over to unhook the phone from the wall.</p><p>"I'll order the food," she told him before he left.</p><p>Len poured himself a glass of calpis, grabbed Rin's soda. While waiting for the drink machine to finish, he acknowledged that he was feeling sort of nervous. His heart was beating hard against his ribcage, palms clammy. Why though? It wasn't like this was any different from any other karaoke venture him and Rin went on.</p><p>Well, besides the plans he had for the evening, but it was <em> because of her birthday. Nothing else. No sinister thoughts here. </em></p><p>When he got back to the room, Rin had already queued <em> another </em> block of songs and was in the middle of singing something. He hadn’t even the chance to queue anything <em> he </em>wanted. </p><p>God, she was such a remote hog, and he thought to tell her off, but reminded himself it was her birthday. <em> Let her be the evil remote hog that she was for the day. </em></p><p>The food came when they were in the middle of a duet. Len almost missed his part of the song, because she hadn’t just ordered takoyaki, but also a plate of fries <em> and </em> a strawberry parfait. His eyes popped out of his head as the employee set down the food on the table.</p><p><em> Rin</em>, he thought. <em> Why are you like this. I love you, but why are you like this. </em></p><p>“Are you going to eat <em> all </em> of that?” he asked when the song finished.</p><p>She gave him a look. “No? We’re sharing.”</p><p>Len mumbled something along the lines of <em> okay yeah whatever but I didn’t ask for this much food</em>. He reached for a soggy fry, mourning his allowance.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Karaoke went by fast. In retrospect, it was probably better to have only spent four hours there, because his throat was raw by the third hour. Rin—the absolute madman—was still going somewhat strong, although her voice was a tad raspy by the end.</p><p>After Len paid for the food, they left and headed for the station nearby. On the way there, Rin asked, "So, where to next?"</p><p>"Shinjuku." He left it brief.</p><p>She screwed up her face. "Shinjuku? Ew. Why are we going there?"</p><p>"Because that's where I planned for us to go?" He gave her a hurt look, and she returned it, playful.</p><p>Admittedly, Len was a little worried, considering Rin had consumed almost all of the food they were supposed to share (not to forget that she also put another dint in his wallet). He was planning on them having cake or something at the cafe at the top of the north tower, because it was her <em> birthday</em>, but she probably wouldn't even be hungry.</p><p>The trains were starting to get a little busy—Sunday afternoon, everyone was going home—so they had to stand a little close together. Rin parked herself in the corner between the seats and the door, and Len right beside her, trying to avoid touching the other people around them but leaving enough space for Jesus between each other.</p><p>Normally Len wouldn't find himself so worked up over this situation, but today, his brain was like, stupid teenage boy mode or something because being so close to her was <em> really </em> bothering him. She seemed unaware of that, though, recounting some of the misadventures she'd had with Miku and Gumi the night before.</p><p>He listened, but didn't <em>really</em> listen, hyper aware of their hands and arms grazing with every jolt of the train, and eyes betraying him every few minutes by slipping down to her lips. Why, oh why, was he sexualising his best friend like this? On her <em>birthday?</em> <em>Really, Len?</em></p><p>Eventually, they reached their destination station, and headed towards the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building.</p><p>Rin tried nagging him again about where they were going.</p><p>"You'll see in, like, five minutes," he told her.</p><p>She sulked. “Why is it some big secret?” she complained. “I hate secrets.”</p><p>“It’s not a secret. I just like seeing you suffer.”</p><p>“Len. Choke.”</p><p>He grinned as they turned a corner in the underground walkway leading them away from the station, reaching a set of long, long escalators. Rin peered up at the sign above, trying to catch a glimpse of what possible location they were heading to.</p><p>"Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building?" she read. "What's so special about that?"</p><p>Len feigned nonchalance, tossing a shoulder. "Oh, you know," he said. "There are observation decks at the top of each tower, and I heard it looks really nice at sunset, so I was just thinking of going there with you."</p><p>"Huh." Her expression went blank. "That's nice."</p><p>It was a short walk amongst the towering buildings of Shinjuku. This part of the city wasn't as busy or touristy; clean and pristine with wide, empty footpaths. A clear, blue sky peeked through the skyscrapers overhead. It was only five or so, so they still had a bit of time before sundown. Luckily, the weather and visibility were good that day, much to his relief.</p><p>The wait in line to reach the observation level was long, but admittedly, worth it. Rin seemed happy once they reached the top, running over to the closest window and pulling out her phone to snap pictures of the skyline. She ushered him over, made him squint into the distance to look for the ocean, and they spent a good half hour trying to spot landmarks amongst the sea of buildings below.</p><p>After walking the perimeter of the building, they settled down in the seats of the cafe. “Do you want anything?” Len asked.</p><p>Rin hummed, eyes skimming over the menu. “I think I’ll just get tea.”</p><p>He was a little disappointed she wasn’t interested in any of the sweets on display (the banana cake looked really good, okay), but decided in retrospect, he would’ve been terrified if that girl could fit anymore in after eating takoyaki, fries <em> and </em> almost all of the strawberry parfait.</p><p>After he came back with their drinks, they settled into a comfortable silence. Rin was responding to messages on her phone, and he was just happy to watch as her expression shifted with every thought.</p><p>Eventually, she set down her phone and stared down at the table between them. “So,” she began, in a tone that meant business.</p><p>He sat up in his chair, smiled at her, but it was nervous, because she—all of a sudden—seemed <em> very </em> serious. And serious Rin was not a common occurrence.</p><p>Her fingers curled into fists on her thighs, and her gaze flitted everywhere in the room but his face. “Is this, um, a date?”</p><p>At first, Len didn’t know how to respond. </p><p>His mouth hung open, before he became aware of his expression, snapping it shut. Then he cleared his throat. “Um.” To be honest, he didn’t know. <em> Was </em> it a date? Well, maybe he lowkey wanted it to be but did <em> Rin </em> want it to be? By the looks of it, she didn’t seem very… impressed by the idea. “It’s, uh… whatever you want it to be, Rin.”</p><p>She blinked, eyes falling on him, then dropping back down to her knees. “Oh.”</p><p>Was that the right answer? Had he just made her uncomfortable? Had he just ruined her entire birthday?</p><p>He was too afraid to ask.</p><p>They sat in awkward silence, until the sky outside started to turn various shades of orange, and people began swarming the windows to watch the sunset.</p><p>Rin was kind of peering over, as if torn between getting up from the chair or staying seated.</p><p>“You want to go look?” Len asked, giving her a smile to try and ease the uncomfortable air between them.</p><p>She hesitated, the corners of her lips twitching. “I won’t even be able to see over everyone.”</p><p>He, with the intelligence of a mitochondria, said, “Well, I can just hold you up.”</p><p>Rin snorted. “Are you sure you can do that?”</p><p>He blew a raspberry, faking confidence. “Uh, yeah, sure I can.”</p><p>“Okay then, Mr Buff Arms. Prove it to me.”</p><p>She got up from her seat with a shit-eating grin, and he scrambled after her, crossing the floor in direction of one of the busiest windows. The reason <em> why </em> the crowds were gathering at that particular spot was not just because of the sunset, but because of the fact that you could see a beautifully clear silhouette of Mt Fuji in the distance.</p><p>He hadn’t even realised that; it was hiding behind the clouds before.</p><p>Len gestured for her to climb onto his back.</p><p>“Are you sure?” Rin looked uncertain, eyeing him like a venomous snake. “I’m like, almost the same weight as you, Len.”</p><p>“So?” he bluffed.</p><p>She stood there staring, before giving in with the roll of her eyes. “Don’t cry if I break something.”</p><p>Then she wrapped her arms around his neck, hiking one leg up his side, and he hooked his arms under her thighs to hoist her up. She was right. She <em> was </em> heavy. But he was willing to be crushed under the weight of her for her to have a nice birthday.</p><p>“Hold on to me,” she ordered, arms unlatching from his neck. “I want to take some pictures.”</p><p>Len gave a grunt as a reply. It was the best he could do.</p><p>After a while (probably like, two minutes or so), he felt like he was going to burst a blood vessel somewhere in his body, so he wheezed out, “Rin. Are you done? I gotta let you down now.”</p><p>“Oh, yeah. You can let me down.”</p><p>He released his grip on her legs and she dropped back down into standing position behind him. Grabbing his lower back in pain, he turned to her looking like a crippled old man.</p><p>Rin laughed in his face. “Feeling sorry for yourself now, huh? I told you.”</p><p>He waved his hand, straightening up with a groan. “Yeah, yeah. Did you get any nice pictures?”</p><p>“Hmm. Let’s see.” She looked at her phone, then moved in close to show him her screen. “They’re not too bad, besides the dozens of heads in the foreground.”</p><p>It was strange, oddly disproportionate, the way Mt Fuji loomed over the busy streets of Tokyo. The sky was a beautiful array of golds and oranges and yellows; a perfect sunset for a perfect birthday.</p><p>“They’re nice,” he said. He glanced up from her phone to look at her, becoming aware of their distance, and aware of her ogling up at him. The golden light coming through the windows lit up her face, brought out the highlights of her hair, accentuated the freckles on her cheeks. </p><p><em> Wow</em>, he thought, his breath getting caught in his throat. He was utterly in love with her.</p><p>Much to his surprise, Rin’s face seemed to be moving closer. And so was he, his body unconsciously moving forward, down to her like drawn to a magnet. </p><p>Her eyes fluttered closed, head tilting. </p><p>Their lips were about an inch away from touching when a child right beside them started screaming. Immediately, Len was drawn out of his strange daze, jumping away from Rin. She seemed to do the same thing, putting at least a metre space between them.</p><p>Her face was bright red, and she forced her fingers back through her hair with a nervous laugh. “You know, we should get going before everyone else gets the same idea,” she said, acting as if nothing ever happened.</p><p>Len blinked, unsure if he’d just imagined what happened thirty seconds prior, or if he was really just about to kiss his best friend in front of thirty or so strangers. He decided not to think about it. “Right. That’s a good idea.”</p><p>So they headed for the elevators and made a quick escape before the crowds followed. His head was still spinning as they walked down the footpath back towards the entrance to the underground walkway. The sky was now fading to a deep blue; bare remnants of the day clinging in streaks of orange above their heads.</p><p>Rin tugged on his sleeve, pointing a finger at something across the intersection they stood. “Hey. I want to check that out.”</p><p>It was a park—Shinjuku Chuo Park, to be exact. He’d seen it on the map when researching where to go with her, didn’t think much of it. There was a waterfall display and some flowerbeds, people lurking about. There were winding paths and a handful of trees lining them, a maze within the middle of the city.</p><p>He shrugged his shoulders.</p><p>It wasn’t like he was in a hurry or anything. They had time, still, to go for dinner, if Rin was keen on it. She seemed awfully pensive compared to before, though, as they crossed the road and made their way over to the park.</p><p>He wondered if he’d said or done something wrong. Or… if what had happened between them with the whole phone-and-faces-getting-close-like-they-were-going-to-kiss-or-something had like, offended her.</p><p>They strolled down the winding path of the park in silence. There was a playground, some monuments, and finally, a shrine.</p><p>Rin slowed to a stop, staring at the shrine. He halted beside her.</p><p>“You want to pray?” Len asked.</p><p>She was quiet, before shaking her head. “No. It’s alright.” She glanced up at him, a small smile. “I was thinking, let’s go sit down somewhere.”</p><p>He obeyed, and they set off again, finding a lone seat along the footpath nearby. There were still a few people out and about, but it was relatively quiet. It had long turned to night, the cityscape surrounding them lighting up like tetris blocks. </p><p>Their shoulders bumped, and Rin eased herself against him, before bringing her head down to rest on his shoulder.</p><p>His heart hummed to life in his chest, but he tried to ignore it.</p><p>“This is really nice,” she said, her voice soft. “This was a really nice day, Len.”</p><p>After a moment of hesitation, he lowered his cheek against the top of her hair, taking in the familiar scent of her favourite shampoo. A hint of something floral, a hint of something citrus—and a hit of something Rin.</p><p>He hummed. “I’m glad.”</p><p>Rin was silent for a passing moment, before she spoke again. “Do you know what would make it even better?”</p><p>Len’s stomach growled. “Gusto?” he half-joked.</p><p>“No.” She pulled her head away to look at him, and the cool night air hit his cheek like a slap to the face. He stared back down at her, captured by her gaze.</p><p>It was happening again. The whole moving-in-close thing, that was. Her face was getting bigger, and he could feel her hot breath tickling the tip of his nose. His head ducked down to close the gap between them, catching her wet mouth with his own so suddenly that he pulled away, shocked at the boldness of his actions.</p><p>Rin didn’t seem to care, though. Her hand went up to the back of his head and pulled him back down to her lips. It was sloppy, kind of gross, but they didn’t care. It was their first time. It wasn’t supposed to be perfect.</p><p>She kept him in place, balling up the fabric of his t-shirt with her fists. He allowed himself to melt into the kiss, hands trailing down to hold her by the waist. He wasn’t expecting the day to really end with them sitting in the middle of a park in Shinjuku making out, but he wasn’t <em> mad </em> by the outcome, either.</p><p>When they pulled away to breathe, Rin smiled something nervous, her lips glistening under the glow of the city lights. Her hands unravelled themselves from his shirt. </p><p>“Better,” she said.</p><p>Len was stunned silent, just stared at her. He wasn’t sure if what happened had just happened. So he went back in for another kiss; this time a little bit more tender, less wet. </p><p>“So Gumi and Miku were right,” he thought aloud against her mouth.</p><p>Rin pulled back a bit to give him this horrified look. “What did they tell you.” It wasn’t even posed as a question. She’d already made the assumption they’d told him something awful.</p><p>He chuckled nervously. “Well, uh, I tried asking their opinion what to do for your birthday…”</p><p>She raised an eyebrow. “And?”</p><p>“They straight up told me to ask you out.”</p><p>Her eyes narrowed into slits. “Those bitches.”</p><p>His lips curled. “Well, I mean. It helped. Somewhat.”</p><p>“Yeah.” She frowned, reaching up to curl a strand of her hair around a finger. “I can’t believe they just—so blatantly did that, though. Even after I begged them not to say anything.”</p><p>She <em> begged </em> them? Wow. “I thought they were joking up until five minutes ago, Rin. You know I don’t take anything they say seriously.”</p><p>Rin sighed. “Yeah, but—” She paused, thinking, before tossing her shoulders. “Well, it doesn’t matter anymore anyway. I just want to know, Len—<em> is </em> this a date?”</p><p>Len pressed his forehead against hers. Gazed into her eyes. They were a dark blue; alluring, always drawing him in, keeping him in orbit around her like a planet to its star. He admitted, “Not my original intention, no, but I think the simp in me was projecting a bit much that it ended up being one anyway.”</p><p>She cracked a grin. “Simp, huh,” she said. She lifted a hand to his jaw, trailed her fingers along it until her palm was resting on the back of his head. He wanted to shudder into her touch. “Well, kiss me more. I’m not done making the most of my birthday privileges yet.”</p><p>He opened his mouth. “I can kiss you like this every day if you wan—”</p><p>She silenced him with her lips, closing the space between them once again.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <em> [epilogue] </em>
</p><p>The following weekend, Len knocked on Kaito’s door with a week’s worth of his favourite lemonade-flavoured popsicles in one hand.</p><p>Kaito’s eyebrows shot up into the ceiling upon spotting the bag of goodies. “What’s this?” he asked.</p><p>“A thank you gift,” Len said, handing it over.</p><p>“Huh.” Kaito took them, a confused expression on his face. “What for?”</p><p>“Your idea about the date? It worked. Rin and I are a thing now.”</p><p>A lengthy silence followed.</p><p>“You mean… you two weren’t dating before?”</p>
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